


kinds of affections

by ratgotico



Series: introduction to intimacy [3]
Category: Community (TV)
Genre: Developing Relationship, M/M, Nonbinary Character, Post Season 6, changed the title and also added another chapter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:14:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25203799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ratgotico/pseuds/ratgotico
Summary: It's time for Jeff to introduce Craig as his partner to the study group, but he's concerned things won't go well.Or, the one where they have a lot of insecurities.
Relationships: Dean Craig Pelton/Jeff Winger
Series: introduction to intimacy [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1814599
Comments: 14
Kudos: 80





	1. Chapter 1

“I’m still very much surprised you decided to go to the last ball of the year in a suit”, Jeff says, as he’s behind Craig, helping him with his tie. They’re in front of a full body mirror in Craig’s bedroom. "And it's a fairly decent one, too. I was starting to think you spent your whole budget on your dresses. _Those_ look expensive."

Jeff knew Craig didn’t own as many fancy formal attires as he did, but he had taken a look at his limited options when Craig asked him to help him choose, and they weren’t half bad either. He’d had very few things that were tailored to him though, Jeff noticed, the rest being oversized shirts that he would always see Craig wear at work as the Dean. He briefly thinks about the idea of taking him shopping one of these days for work clothes that would fit him more nicely.

“I just wanted to try something different, which for me is this", he grabs the front of the tie. "And don’t be silly, you’ve seen me in a suit before."

“Yeah-”, Jeff spins him around to check if it looks right, “during a wedding where you were a guest, or other formal events where you had to do it. This is a dance at _Greendale_. The place where you keep a whole closet full of carnival costumes.”

“First of all”, Craig raises a finger, “I know you know better than to call them ‘carnival costumes’”, he frowns. “And that’s where I _kept_ them, because they’re all here now so I can be completely professional and serious at work, remember? Like a normal Dean”, he says, making a face at the word ‘normal’.

Jeff looks at him apologetically. He runs a hand through Craig’s tie. “This looks nice, though, at least.” Then he sheepishly adds, “ _you_ look nice, I mean. Very nice.”

Craig smiles, although still a little sad, at him. “Thanks for the help. You’re so much better with this than I am.”

Jeff shrugs. He doesn’t need to mention he’s had a lot of practice because Craig has already seen his wardrobe. “Sorry... If I was a little rude just now. I’m kind of nervous, to be honest.”

Craig puts his hands on Jeff’s chest. “I can’t really say I didn’t notice.”

Jeff closes his eyes and just feels the comforting presence of Craig’s hands, steadying him, for a moment. Then he decides to just get on with it because he’s not running away from _this_ , whatever it is, this time. He puts both hands above Craig’s and squeezes them before asking him to go put on the actual suit and his moccasin shoes so he can see him with the complete outfit on.

Jeff is sitting on the bed waiting when Craig comes to stand in front of him, with hands on his hips and striking a pose. “I think I look like pretty good boyfriend material right now”, he says, smiking.

Jeff laughs, and he can't help but think that he's right, but then he also realizes... “Is this why you decided to wear a suit?”

Craig doesn’t outright say yes, but he looks away and makes a face and a "hmmm" noise, which means it’s a yes but he doesn’t want to have to admit it out loud.

“I would complain about you not being true to yourself and all that, but I know you did this for my sake, which I think is pretty adorable”, and that gets a smile out of Craig. “But I also need you to know that you didn’t have to. You know I like you just the way you are.” He lifts a hand, with his palm up, for Craig to take it. And so he does.

“Well, Jeffrey, the feeling is mutual. Though I do like you just a bit more with your shirt off.”

Jeff raises his eyebrows. "Oh, yeah, everyone does. Including me."

“But this”, Craig continues, “ _us_ – it might be kind of a shock to your friends at first, and I don’t want any drastic reactions. And that’s exactly what my clothes are for. Now this”, he motions to the suit, “is just the boring outfit of a, oh, I don’t know, some everyday lawyer. No excitement whatsoever.”

Jeff let’s go of his hand and moves it to his own chest instead, feigning offense. “Ouch? Remind me to not ever insult your clothes again.”

* * *

They’re in the car in the school’s parking lot. Jeff is still firmly gripping the wheel when they've already stopped, until he turns his head and realizes Craig is just staring at him. “You always do this", he comments.

“Yes”, Craig replies. “But who would’ve even thought I’d be the more down to earth person in this relationship?”

Jeff sighs. “I just need to calm down, okay? I have to prepare myself to go out there and see all of them again after having an emotional breakdown over the thought of _not_ seeing them again, and also announce that hey, Jeff Winger is in a commitment now! A relationship. With-”, he stops. “Wait, what do I even introduce you as? My partner? My boyfriend?”

Craig gasps. “Oh, definitely your boyfriend. I’ve been wanting to be referred to as your…”, he starts to say, excited, but then he slows down. “Hm, maybe this isn’t the best time for recor-dean-tions, actually.”

Jeff sighs. “I still don’t understand this”, he mutters to himself.

“The boyfriend thing? Well, I’m not a man or a woman, as I’ve said before, but I am more masculine leaning… Both in gender _and_ sexuality, now that I think about it”, Craig ponders. "But my presentation wildly varies."

“Not that”, Jeff looks at him. “I get that. I meant, how we got here.”

Craig cocks his head at him. “Are you… Having second thoughts? About this?”

Jeff averts his gaze. “No”, he says softly. Then “maybe”. And he can’t look at Craig again after that because he’s not only awfully anxious about everything that’s happening and really upset with himself right now, but also because Craig probably looks incredibly hurt and Jeff cannot deal with all of this at once.

They both stay silent and still for a while. Jeff thinks that, if they could just leave and go for a walk together, alone, so he could get a hold of himself, maybe he could come back and do this after.

But then Craig is the first one to speak. “Well, then. I guess I’ll just go to the dance. By myself.” He opens the car door and leaves.

* * *

Jeff decides to join the party anyway, since he still promised to be there for the meeting with the study group and he’s not about to ruin every relationship he’s ever built in one night. Except now besides feeling nervous he also just feels like shit. And if he was confused on what they were before, he’s even more now because he’s not sure if he just screwed everything up. It’s not his fault though, he tries telling himself. He didn’t mean he was unsure about their _entire_ relationship, just about introducing them as an item.

But then he considers how Craig had sacrificed his one chance to wear whatever he wanted at the ball just so he could look more “presentable” in a regular suit next to Jeff… Because he knew Jeff always tried to play it cool, even when that was far from what was really going on inside his head. And then he realizes where he went wrong, because Craig was 100% committed to this, and Jeff had told him he was, too, and then he cowered.

Jeff’s in the middle of this internal debate when Britta approaches him.

“Hey, Jeff! So you actually came, huh? Does this mean you are ready to admit that I’m a great bartender slash therapist?”, she smiles smugly at him.

“Oh yeah, you are the sole reason I gathered up the courage to came here today”, he replies.

Britta brings her hands together. “It’s _so_ brave of you to finally admit it.”

They both smile at each other at their familiar friendly banter. “Now come on”, she says, putting a hand on his back, “there are some people you might wanna see.”

She brings him to a table, where Annie, Abed and Shirley are sitting. They all smile upon seeing him and he smiles back.

“Oh, Jeff, how have you been?”, Shirley is the first to ask, in her soft voice, and to get up and go give him a tight hug.

“I’m good Shirley. How have you been? And the boys? And the business?”, he asks, all at once, because he’s been wondering.

Shirley looks at him, and she seems… Pretty happy. “Everything has been… Good, actually. It’s almost a miracle – and I say almost because I’ve been fighting pretty hard to get back on my feet by myself. But it’s been working out so far, Jeffrey”, she smiles.

“That’s great”, he says, honestly happy for her.

Then the next in line is Annie, who looks at him with those big, soft eyes. Jeff feels like he owes her so many apologies, but he's not about to unpack all of that now.

“M’lady”, he says, jokingly, instead, and offers her his arm. She rolls her eyes, but she also smiles and goes to hug him.

“… Are you ok now?”, she whispers. “Britta told me you were having a pretty rough time.”

“Yeah”, he says. “I’m ok. I missed you. And I promise I’ll be a better friend from now on. I genuinely want to know how you’re all doing.”

He let’s her go. Next is Abed, to whom Jeff extends a hand. He shakes it.

“So, how’s this for a reunion special?”, Jeff asks.

Abed turns his head to think about it. “If you’re being serious, the writing is still pretty weak. But if you’re asking how I feel about this heartwarming moment between us all – then it’s really good... I've been looking forward to this weekend.”

Annie smiles. “You guys… It’s been so long since we were all together like this! I’ve made so many plans for us for tomorrow so we can recall all our adventures, and all the good times we spent here, at Greendale. I even talked to Frankie and the Dean to let us use the study room over the weekend to do this!”

“Aw, Annie”, Shirley says. “That’s so sweet! Oh, and I can prepare all the food for our reunion too.”

Annie puts her hand on Shirley’s shoulder. “I was counting on that, Shirley. And Abed can bring the best, or even better, the _worst_ movies we watched together over the years… And Britta can bring the drinks.”

“And what about Jeff?”, Britta asks. “He gets aways with just bringing his snarky attitude?”

When they turn to him, Jeff suddenly does not look well, as if he’s worried sick about something, which in fact, he is. He’s zoned out since Annie mentioned the Dean, thinking on what he should do about it, but more importantly, if he should do it right now.

“Jeff… Are you really ok?”, Annie asks, concerned.

He takes a big breath, deciding that if he doesn’t say something at this moment, he just never will, and then he’ll have ruined a perfectly good chance at a meaningful relationship… _Again_.

“I’m… Not really okay, actually. But it’s not because of what you might think”, he says, looking back at Annie. He sighs. He can do this. “I told my boyfriend I would introduce him to you all tonight. But then I got scared and I let him down, and then he left.”

He doesn’t meet anyone’s eyes just then, and no one says anything either. That is, until Britta slaps him on the arm.

“You have a boyfriend now and you never thought of mentioning it during our sessions?”, she asks.

Annie gasps. “You’ve been having therapy sessions with Britta?”

“That’s probably why he screwed this up”, Shirley points out. Annie nods.

“Hey!”, Britta interjects. “That’s not fair! You know Jeff makes these mistakes all by himself, he’s practically an expert in being bad at relationships.”

Jeff is incredibly confused right now. “Wait, you guys have a problem with me having Britta as a therapist – which is _not_ happening, by the way -, but you’re fine with me having a boyfriend?”

“Uh, Jeff, why would any of us have a problem with you dating a guy?”, Annie asks. Jeff mutters a “not a guy” under his breath.

Britta crosses her arms. “Yeah, how could you think I would have a problem with it? You know I’m a social activist, including for LGBT causes.”

“I’ll admit I may have had… Not very nice opinions about this kind of thing in the past”, Shirley says. “But given all of our behaviors back then, including yours, Jeffrey, I think it’s safe to say that we all grew as people. Besides, even if we had any objections to this… We’re your friends. We would support you no matter what", she places a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah, Jeff. If I remember well, you weren't exactly the most respectful person around, either", Annie agrees. "But we all learned so much here, and with each other... And that's exactly why we're even doing this reunion in the first place", she smiles.

Jeff sighs, then turns to the only person who hasn’t spoken yet. “What about you, Abed?”

Abed looks down. “Well... I wanted to talk about this with all of you tomorrow. In a more calm, familiar environment so I could be prepared and this very same thing that’s happening now”, he gestures at the situation, “wouldn’t happen. But since Jeff already took the shock factor out of the way I guess I can say. I have a boyfriend now, too.”

They all gasp, except for Jeff, whose mouth just hangs open. Annie let’s out an “aw, Abed!” and Shirley an “oh, that's nice!”

That is, until Jeff startles everyone as he bangs a fist at the table. “You have got to be kidding me", he says, before realizing what he’d just done, and how they're all worriedly staring at him. “It’s not… That’s great for you, Abed, really. I know I sound sarcastic saying that right now, but I actually mean it... I’m just mad at _myself,_ because I’m an idiot.”

“Because it turns out you had no to reason to be afraid”, Abed points out. “But your fear may have ruined your relationship.”

“Yeah”, Jeff sighs.

Abed gets closer to him. “This is a happy reunion, Jeff. Which means, it cannot end like this.”

“How do you know it’s a happy reunion?”, Jeff asks.

“I don’t, actually. I’m just trying to console you.”

“Right”, Jeff says, without much meaning behind it. But then he realizes that Abed is right. He has the power to make this a happy reunion, because he can go after Craig and apologize and make things right. “Wait, Abed, you’re a genius. I have to go after the Dean.”

And then he storms off as Britta, Annie and Shirley all ask in unison, “the Dean?”

* * *

Jeff runs to the Dean’s office, because he’s pretty sure he didn’t see him at the party, so it’s the most obvious place to look for. Jeff opens the door and, well...

“Oh. You really are here”, he says, surprised. “This... Does make this whole thing a lot easier.”

Craig is sitting, with his legs hanging, on his desk. “At first I was planning on changing into something more… Dean, and go enjoy the party, since it’s kind of my party, that I planned, you know. But then I came here to wait for you to look for me... I mean, I was hoping you would, at least", he says, sadly.

“And here I am”, Jeff says.

“Like a knight in shinning armor.”

Jeff smiles, but then it quickly disappears as he remembers they need to have a serious conversation. _Again_. Was this all relationships were? Talking? Because that would mean Jeff would be great at it, but it really feels like he isn’t. Maybe there was a reason he was never a real lawyer after all.

Except he knows he can’t maintain a relationship based on empty words and no real actions. And that’s why he struggles so much. His talk is worth nothing if he doesn’t actively show how he feels every once in a while.

“I have a confession to make”, Craig says. “I didn’t leave the car because of what you said, Jeffrey. I know how you are, I know how you get caught up in these thoughts, and... Really, you just need a little nudge sometimes.”

“So, why did you leave?”, Jeff questions.

Craig smiles nervously. “Because _I_ was afraid.” He wipes a tear off his face. “I’ve never had a serious relationship like this either… I’m also scared I’m going to ruin this somehow, Jeffrey. I came here dressed like this for you, sure, but also because I just can’t handle being seen as a joke anymore. And I didn’t want anyone, but especially not the people I care about, to look at me like...”, he gestures vaguely with his hand, “like I didn’t deserve you, or something.”

He looks down, avoiding Jeff's eyes, as if he's ashamed of what he just said. Jeff slowly gets closer to him, then he touches Craig's arm so he'll look at him. And then, he hugs him.

“You’re not a joke. You don’t even need me to tell you that, because you know you’re just not.” He let’s go to look him in the eyes again. “I thought I was joke when I first stepped inside here. And then again when I stayed. And then again when I became a teacher. But over the years, when I started to finally understand that all that matters is my own opinion of me, and not anyone else’s, I realized I could just stop feeling sorry for myself and start feeling _proud_ instead.”

Jeff touches his cheek. “You did great for this school. You did great for yourself. And I’m insanely lucky to be able to call you my boyfriend.”

Craig holds the hand in his face, and keeps it there as he closes his eyes. Jeff seizes the moment to give him a quick kiss.

When he pulls away, Craig opens his eyes again. “Are you ever not going to use these moments to show off your speech skills?”

Jeff laughs. “You love them”, he says, to which Craig replies “I do” with a huge smile on his face. “And just to let you know, I already told everyone about my boyfriend. And they know it’s you. So you don’t even have to worry about looking ‘presentable’ anymore. I’m sure they’d love it if you came dressed up tomorrow so we could all really go back to the past.”

“Oh yeah, that”, Craig replies. “I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you even more concerned about them, and us, and all of this together in the old study room. But let’s pretend I was just waiting to make it a surprise.”

Jeff half embraces Craig again. “Let me make it up to you for this disaster of a night. How about we agree that tomorrow you pick both your outfit _and_ mine. I'll go along with whatever you want me to.”

Craig rests his head on Jeff’s shoulder, smiling. “Oh, I think they would love to see you with eyeliner on again. Like you wore when you first came to my rescue.”

Jeff laughs. "Yeah, _they_ would love it, alright. Now let's go enjoy the rest of the party because I'm sure they're all dying to find out how this", he gestures to them both, "came into existence."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Abed talks about his new boyfriend. Jeff does something nice for Craig.

“You look so handsome with those aviators, you know… But you really should take them off right now", Craig tells him, completely awake, somehow, while Jeff is just struggling.

He's starting the car. And also yawning. It’s way too early to be awake during the weekend, especially when they left the party so late. Britta had been asking about since when “this” had been going on, and getting mad at him for not telling her sooner, while Shirley and Annie took care of every other kind of question about their relationship - which Craig had been way too happy to answer, just because they were 'aw'ing everything he said.

The only one who had had mercy on him was Abed, but he figured it was a sort of thank you for directing their noisiness to Craig and him, instead of his own new boyfriend. Nevertheless, it had been a long, long night.

“Fine”, he says, as he takes off the shades, because his eyes are already watering from the yawn and then he’s really not going to see anything in front of him if he keeps them on. “But I hope you’ll like seeing me with bags under my eyes.”

“What are you talking about?”, Craig turns his head, indignant, at him. “I saw you apply so much cream to your face before we left. And I don't know what even half of those were.”

Jeff blinks, trying to get rid of the sleep. “You weren’t supposed to see that!”, he says, as he starts driving. “I wanted to impress you with my ‘natural’ sleep deprived good look.”

Craig smiles. “You already do that all the time, honey.”

Jeff swallows, and tries really hard not to make a big deal out of Craig calling him ‘honey’ just now, since it really isn't. It's just the kind of intimacy you should expect from being a couple. A while ago, Craig had been the one nervous about not having a set label for himself at that age - which Jeff assured him was just fine-, but what about him, who was still figuring out how relationships worked and how he was even supposed to act while in one, as if he shouldn’t just _know_ that by now?

He feels a hand on his arm. Craig seems to have noticed his internal freakout, because _of course_ he does. “It’s alright, Jeffrey”, he says, “we’re figuring this out together. I told you, I’m not a pro at this either! I’m just a naturally affectionate person.”

'You sure are', Jeff thinks, recalling the not at all subtle touches to his shoulder over the years. “And you’re okay that I’m not?”, he asks, very unsure if he should, or if he’s ready for the answer.

Craig looks forward, thinking, and suddenly his anxiety makes Jeff regret he asked that.

But then he hears Craig laughing. “Well, only if you’re okay with me and all my eccentricities”, he says, looking lovingly at Jeff again.

Jeff smiles, because _of course he is –_ and he means it, no sarcasm this time-, and he doesn’t even need to say it out loud, because Craig already knows that.

Once they get to Greendale, they go straight to the Dean’s office, and Jeff let’s Craig do whatever he wants with him, because he deserves it. And maybe because Jeff is starting to develop a taste for it now, too.

“I’m not going to do anything over the top, you know”, Craig comments, while applying the black eyeliner on him. “I value your ‘natural’ look too much.”

Jeff snorts. Craig gives him a quick kiss.

“But you do look good with eye shadow. Even more so than me, which is, frankly, outrageous.”

“That’s not fair to you”, Jeff says. “You know I look good in anything.”

* * *

“Oh, home sweet home, right?” Craig hums appreciatively as they open the study room.

“You do realize we still have meetings in here, at least once a week?”

Craig looks back at him. “That doesn’t make the sentiment any less real, Jeffrey.”

“If anything I should be the one feeling sentimental right now”, Jeff says. “I sat here nearly everyday for four years. You mostly just came in to look at me.”

“Oh well, and you know”, he motions with his hands, “to give you important announcements about what was going on in your school.”

Jeff crosses him arms. “You could’ve done that over the speakers.”

Craig glares at him. “Oh, really, Jeffrey? After all those times I delivered you privileged information, you’re just going to dismiss me like that.”

Jeff smirks. “I’m just teasing, I’m sorry.” He extends a hand. Craig takes it and Jeff pulls him into an embrace. “You were always an honorary part of the study group.”

Craig smiles and mouths a “thank you” into his chest. Then he looks up at Jeff. “Should we even be calling this a ‘study room’ by now? Who even uses this room to study anymore?”

“I don’t think there’s been any real study done in here ever since we joined Greendale”, a third voice says.

Jeff and Craig both turn their heads to see Abed walking in the room.

“I guess not”, Jeff agrees. He then points at Abed’s side bag. “So, Abed, what did you bring for us today?”

“The movies Annie asked for. The Breakfast Club – you know, my first movie reference ever made in this room -, The Kickpuncher trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises - from when Annie broke my DVD while cleaning our apartment, and then I confronted the landlord downstairs about it while roleplaying as Batman.”

Jeff and Craig look at each other, raising their eyebrows.

“When she texted me last month she specifically asked for memories”, Abed takes off his bag, leaving it on the table, “so that’s what I brought.” Then, he suddenly stops and looks at the two of them. He points at Jeff’s face. “You look good in blue. Brings out your eyes.”

“Oh, he knows”, Craig replies, and Jeff squeezes him by his side. Yeah, he does know.

“This is a real character development for you, you know Jeff? I can’t picture you being this confident in yourself before.”

Jeff narrows his eyes at him. “What do you mean?”

“You had all this talk about being a man, looking cool, and dating women. That was your whole thing. Now there’s so much more to you.”

Craig runs a hand through Jeff’s chest, and looks up at him. “He’s right, you know? You were just awfully straight.” Jeff rolls his eyes.

“That’s really not a bad thing, Jeff. You look happy like this.” Abed looks at him, and Jeff stares back. But then he realizes Abed is right, as usual.

“You too, Dean", Abed says, looking at Craig.

“Oh Abed, please, call me Craig! I’m not even your Dean anymore.”

Abed considers it for a moment. “That’s not true”, he says. “You’ll always be our Dean.”

Craig mouths a silent “oh”, and puts a hand to his own chest, clearly moved by the statement.

“But sure, I’ll be happy to do it”, he points at him. “Well, Jeff, Craig, you may want to sit for this.”

Jeff and Craig look at each other, a puzzled look on their faces, but both pull a chair and sit anyway. Abed does the same.

“For this… What, exactly, Abed?”, Craig asks once they’re sitted.

“Wait, is this why you’re here so early?”, Jeff questions. “I was wondering how the hell you got here before Annie.”

Abed places his hands, together, on the table. His gaze is directed to it, too, instead of them. “I’ve been considering who I should talk to about this”, Abed continues. “Annie? Shirley? Britta? They all have various levels of attachment to the case in point. But after seeing you yesterday, I knew it had to be you.”

“Abed”, Jeff interjects. “You’re beginning to scare me a little. What is it and why is it such a big deal?”

“Can you keep a secret?”, Abed asks, looking at Jeff now. Jeff nods with a ‘sure’. Abed points to Craig.

“What about you, Craig? Can you keep a secret? For me, and for Jeff?”

Craig stares at him, still lost on what exactly is going on, but then he nods, too, putting a hand up. “I promise, Abed.”

Abed looks down. He Takes a moments, and then says, “I’ve been in contact with Troy. We’ve been talking”, he says. “We’ve been… Dating.”

Jeff blinks several times trying to process this. “Troy?”, he asks. “The Troy who is currently, supposedly in the middle of the ocean?”

Craig’s mouth is hanging open. “Abed? How is that even possible?”

“Have you watched Mr. Popper’s Penguins?”, Abed questions, to which Jeff answers with a sharp _“what?”_ , and Craig's addition of "you know, with Jim Carrey" doesn't help much either. And then, Abed explains how in the beginning of the movie the kid uses a shortwave radio to talk to his dad, who’s traveling around the world, much like what was going on with Troy.

“So...”, Craig points with a finger, as if trying to follow the logic of the story. “Is that how you’ve been talking? Through a radio?”

“Basically", Abed replies. "You see, the boat Troy is in has a built in radio. But to find the frequency, I’ve had to use a combination of GPS tracking-”

Jeff instinctively puts a hand on his head, then on his body. “That’s… still a thing?”

“… Logic, and guessing”, Abed finishes. “I had been trying for a while, and I came close to giving up entirely. But I knew I had to find him”, he looks at them. “There were too many things I didn’t say. Things that I couldn’t not tell him before something inevitable happened and I never got the chance.”

Jeff starts to put the puzzle pieces together. “You...”, he starts, thinking carefully about what he’s going to say next. “You had feelings for him. Actual romantic feelings for him. Before he left.”

Abed doesn’t say anything.

“So, all those times I joked calling you his boyfriend...”

Abed shifts. “It was pretty funny. I liked it when you said that, even if you were using it to be a jerk. I liked how that sounded, but most of all, it made me think about how we already had that kind of relationship, and it was obvious to everyone else around us, except for ourselves.”

They all remain silent. Jeff has many questions, but he realizes since Abed doesn't want to tell anyone, they have limited time until the others get there. So, he starts with what he's most curious about, which is, "And why can't we tell anyone?"

Abed seems to think about it. "When I was first able to do it, I didn't know it would turn into a common occurrence between us. When I first heard his voice I couldn't believe I did it. Sometimes I would lose him again, because of the signal, you know", he takes a breath. "But when we were talking, it was as if there was just the two of us again. It wasn't until he asked about Britta, and Annie, and Shirley, and you that I realized we were in the real world."

Abed looks at them, then. "What I can tell you, right now, is that... He's coming back. And I thought maybe I should wait, until he's on land again, here, before saying anything to anyone else."

"You don't want anything bad to happen... In the meantime", Craig comments.

"Because that would be devastating", Jeff adds. Abed nods. "But you know what, Abed", he looks at him. " _Nothing_ is going to happen. He's going to get here, safe and sound, and then we're going to celebrate. Because for some reason, and in the strangest of ways, things just work out for people who passed through here."

Craig places a hand on top of his. "It's the fountain", he half whispers to Jeff. Abed snaps his finger and points at him, in agreement.

Jeff sighs. "So. What are you going to say when they ask about your boyfriend, who, ironically enough, they think they know nothing about?"

Abed hums. "I spilled that yesterday as a way to confort you. Which wasn't the best idea, but you looked like you needed it, so I don't regret it. Plus, it worked out in the end, because your relationship with the Dean stealed the spotlight, so I appreciated that."

"And we'd be happy to do it again!", Craig says, joyfully. Though his excitement does not rub off on Jeff.

They hear footsteps approaching, and Annie suddenly walks in the room, excited, holding a bag full of... Stuff.

"Abed! How did you get here before me? And Jeff, _Craig_ ", she nods her head at him, "sorry for making you get up so early-", she stops when she notices Jeff's face, and stares at him. "Oh, Jeff... You wear makeup now? It looks... Really good on you", she smiles, then turns around to look through the things in the bag.

Jeff nods his head at Abed. "Yeah, don't worry, I got this." It's not as if he doesn't like being the center of attention, anyway.

* * *

Abed, Annie and Shirley all have to get ready to leave on Sunday already, but the plan was to spend all the rest of the time they had left together, which meant the morning and part ofnthe afternoon. Since they had the whole Saturday to celebrate their own memories, Jeff speaks to Annie about planning a little surprise for Craig. She thinks it's incredibly cute and tells him how mature he's gotten, which is very ironic considering their ages, but Jeff can't help but agree with her.

When he arrives early with Craig on Greendale that day, the whole group is already there waiting for them. Britta and Shirley come to lead Craig to open the doors, while Jeff stays by his car, waiting for Craig to get inside so he wouldn't see Jeff getting his surprise out of the trunk. While doing so, Abed walks up to him to ask if he needs help.

"It's just a couple of clothes", he lifts the bags. "I'm pretty sure I can handle it", he says, as he closes the car. Abed responds with a simple "ok" and starts to walk away, but Jeff calls for him.

"If you need to talk, text me, okay?", he looks at Abed. "You're my friend and I don't want you to have to worry about this all by yourself. And when you hear from him, text me again. And then we'll make another party, a 'welcome home, Troy' party, just for him, alright?"

Abed takes a moment, then nods. "Thanks, Jeff. And if you ever need help, I watched a whole lot of romantic movies to know how to deal with pretty much any situation out there."

Jeff smiles. "I'll keep that in mind. Now", he looks over to the school, "let's go inside so I can embarass myself and make Craig the happiest person on Earth."

Once inside, Jeff hands Craig's costume to Annie, and then goes to his own office to get changed. He puts on the suit Craig handmade for him a while ago, which had left Jeff stunned when he saw it - of course, he played it cool at the time, but he couldn't help but admire how impressive Craig's skills were even then. The next step is to go to the gym, hope that everyone did their jobs right, and wait for him.

Jeff soon hears a familiar voice, asking "why did Jeffrey wanted me to wear this?". When Craig enters and sees him, he gasps and puts a hand to his mouth. They're far away, but Jeff extends a hand to him anyway.

"I said we'd wear these together to a Greendale dance someday", Jeff starts, "and I'm a man of my word... Most of the time. But the point is, you've been doing so much for me, Craig, and you put so much effort into this relationship, that I felt like it was time I did something great for you, too."

Craig has tears running down his face, which is expected, but Jeff can also feel his own eyes getting a bit wet. Craig's sentimental ways are getting to him, he thinks. And Jeff is okay with that.

Craig walks up to him and takes his hand. Britta plays the song Jeff had asked for - on her phone, because this whole thing is completely improvised -, which is, obviously, Kiss From a Rose, and Craig bursts out laughing.

"I can't believe you", Craig tells him.

Jeff takes his hand again and joins their bodies together, so they can dance properly.

"Sorry it's not the dance you wanted", Jeff tells him.

"Are you kidding?", Craig asks, breathless, still with tears in his eyes, "It's perfect, Jeffrey. Thank you."

* * *

After the weekend, Jeff is sitting on his couch, watching TV, and waiting for Craig to join him. He knew the afterparty would leave him feeling kinda hollow, with everyone gone again, but he also feels like he's been dealing better with these issues. Craig has the keys to his apartment already at this point, and he just opens the door and walks over to the couch. He has the biggest smile on his face, which is, at least, instantly able to cheer Jeff up a bit.

Craig takes a good look at him before sitting. “You’re thinking”, he points out.

“Well, it _is_ a thing humans tend to do.”

Craig stares at him. Jeff’s response is to open his arms in a silent invitation for him to climb onto his lap. He does just that, and then Jeff embraces him. Craig rests his head on his shoulder, just like he’d done the other night, and Jeff realizes he really, really likes that.

"I can't say I don't appreciate how affectionate you've been over these past few days", Craig tells him.

Jeff snorts. He'd noticed that, too.

"I know there's a lot on your mind right now and, well, if you want to give talking about your feelings more a shot, too..."

“It’s just…”, he starts, “It's about Abed and Troy."

Craig hums, waiting for him to keep going. Jeff sighs. "I don't know. I was thinking about how Abed has basically been in love with Troy for so long, while he was there, with us, and we didn't even notice. I even made fun of him for being so close to Troy. And now Abed has to wait all this time for them to be actually together again."

Jeff swallows a lump in his throat. He feels very vulnerable about all of this all of a sudden. But feeling the weight of Craig in his lap, and his warmness in his arms does help Jeff keep himself grounded, for some reason.

He briefly questions if he's in love with Craig.

“You're not the same guy you used to be, Jeffrey", Craig reassures him. "And, you know," he says, softly, and Jeff can feel his lips moving against his neck, “sometimes you just have really strong feelings for someone that you really cannot let them go. Even when you know your chances of any good outcomes are close to nothing... But they're going to have a happy ending, don't worry about it.”

Jeff wonders how much he's talking about _them_ in that last part. Craig seems like a fairytales kind of person. Jeff squeezes him in his lap. “It’s cute, right? That’s the right word?”

“Ugh, it’s just _adorable_. He’s out there in the middle of the ocean and Abed is communicating with him through a radio… And after crushing on him for so long. And that’s how they started dating? It’s- They should make a movie about that.”

“He really could do it. It’s Abed.”

Craig sighs into his neck. “He should make one about us, too. I bet our story would be a real hit.”

Jeff laughs, because what would _that_ even look like. And then he smirks because the has the perfect response planned. “You mean, about how I, Jeff Winger, went from ex lawyer loser to Greendale teacher and Craig Pelton’s boyfriend, after rejecting his advances for so long, like a complete idiot?", he smiles. "No way, babe, that's a too good to be true kind of story.”

Craig snaps his head up to look him in the eyes. He’s blushing, Jeff notices. “Jeffrey! You did _not_ just say that.”

And then Jeff kisses him, with passion this time, because that at least is something he's sure people in relationships do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry i don't know how radios work.
> 
> also as someone whose english is not their first language i really appreciate all the feedback i've been getting on my writing here so i just wanted to thank you all.

**Author's Note:**

> this will Probably have another chapter or two - one for some troy/abed and i'd do another one just so i can keep writing about dean pelton being nonbinary.
> 
> but in case i never get around to it it's kind of complete like this too. anyway! hope you enjoyed it :]


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